Temple Blessings

The main reason why we made this trip was to go to the Idaho Falls Temple so my Dad and his brother Gary could be sealed to their mom, Grandma and her husband, Jim. It was a very special day for my Dad. He and his mom are very close and now they are as close as you can be. I was so grateful that my parents wanted me and my kiddos to go on this trip it was great.

I Feel My Savior's Love

I know these are not the best pictures but I think they are really special and worthy of a post. The kids got to see the Christus in the visitors center at Temple Square. This was really neat and the kids thought is was so cool that he actually talked to them. For weeks later Keston carried a pass along card with the Chritus picture on it saying"My Jesus he talked to me mom." Oh the sweet spirit of little children.

I Love To See The Temple

So this was one of the highlights of the trip for everyone. My children see pictures of the Salt Lake Temple but have never seen it in reall life. Now they have and it was so fun to see them and to feel the spirit as we walked around the Temple Grounds. Now I know people who live in Salt Lake know this but when you go to the Temple on a Friday morning there will be a lot of brides walking around who are getting pictures taken. This day when we went there 160 sealings being done in this Temple. Soooo you guessed it Autumn was in heaven there were so many "Princesses" she could barely breathe. Their was one in particular who was gorgeous and Autumn was watching her get her picture taken for awhile. The bride took time from the chaoticness that surrounds a bride on her wedding day while taking pictures and talked to Autumn about her special day at the Temple and then took a picture with her. Her photographer took the picture so I don't have it:( Wow it was so special to Autumn and I think to all of us to bring it back to what it's all about. Even though it is a primary song I really do Love To See The Temple. It reminds me that I have a forever family, I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and that the Gospel has been restored in it's fullness.

Utah, Idaho and Wyoming

The kids and I took a trip with my parents to Utah, Idaho and Wyoming this summer and it was a fantastic time. The kids did so good and got to see so many neat things. The kids and I flew into Salt Lake and met my parents and then from there we drove up to Idaho and Wyoming. My Dad's brother, Uncle Gary and his family live in Idaho and my Dad was born and raised in Lander, Wyoming. This trip helped me to realize how important it is to get up there to see our family. The kids got to meet family they have never seen before who loved them so much and were so happy we were their. Kelton and I have talked and he and I are really going to try to make it up to see family every summer. We are so grateful to have family all over who love our kiddos so much.
So back to the beginning the kids and I flew to Salt Lake and this was the kids first airplane ride and they did AWESOME!! It was also really well planned that the longest flight was during nap time. It's funny to get out of your comfort zone. I have three kids but by the looks people gave me you would have thought I had 20. I noticed that no one really sat by us except for a sweet old lady and her husband and she even asked if I needed anything. How sweet. I actually took her up on it because did I mention I was potty training Keston at the time...yes well and when he needed to "go" in the "airplane toilet" for the fifth time I asked if she could hold Pierce and she did happily. But for the most part she was the only one who acted like I was a normal person and not someone with theses alien life forms called children. The airplane ride was a hit!

Muddy Summer Day

Sunshine, Trampoline, Swimsuit, Water, Mud, A Good Day!

I love summer more and more as my kids get older. Seeing summer through their eyes is so sweet, pure and innocent. These are the times when I feel like they are truly children, I am looking forward to another fun filled summer this year. It will be all the more fun now that Pierce is older he can join in on the fun more!

Picking Peaches

The kiddos and I and some of our friends went to pick peaches this summer and it was so fun! The people who own the orchard gave us wagons, boxes and told the kids to eat as many as they could while they were picking them. It was so fun for the kids to see that this is where food comes from not the shelf in Walmart. They had fun but next year I will remember to watch more closely the peaches that they pick to try and avoid bringing so many bugs home and next year I don't think I will buy 35!(OOPS!) pounds of peaches since I don't know how to can! I ended up having to give many away. But it's OK because the experience was worth it and oh were they yummy! Maybe Autumn and I can learn how to can next year!

Hard Day

Now this is my boy. Cowboy boots, spider man hat and my favorite lenin shirt. Keston will go go go but when he stops for just a minute he is out, just like his daddy I am told.

Mini Family Vacation

Ok despite the laughs and confusion about our family vacation we had a lot of fun. Being that Kelton is in the Air Force we can stay on bases for really cheap and get to hang out and take advantage of all the fun stuff there is to do. Now the "funny" part. The closest base to us is in Clovis, New Mexico. Now Clovis is not the typical vacation destination in fact it is really ugly and not appealing at all! However we wanted to get away and it is only 2 hours away so we loaded the van up and told the kids we were going on vacation. We had a BLAST!! We stayed on base and went bowling that night which the kids loved. We then watched TV stayed up late in our hotel which is always exciting. The next day we of course went to the base exchange and spent some money and even participated in a cookie contest...I was a judge, yummy. The base has a bunch of old airplanes so the kids ran around them and got to see how big they are. For lunch we ate at the burger king on base and then headed home. It really doesn't sound very exciting when I type it out but we really enjoyed ourselves. I think it was nice to just get away and spend time with each other and not worry about the laundry or school. We are definitely going to take another Family Vacation to Clovis, New Mexico.

Cowgirl/Missionary??

Well we do encourage her to go on a mission but I think she will have to leave the cowgirl attire...oh and I don't think she can have tea parties either while serving. Her Ta Ta gave her the missionary tag to wear because Ta Ta served two missions and had some extra tags. This was very special to Autumn because the tag says Sister Thomas on it. Autumn and Ta Ta have a very sweet relationship. I don't think Ta Ta had this outfit in mind but I know she would think it is just precious! As do we!

Tea Party?

I know the picture isn't the best but I had to use it. This is why little girls are so sweet. Autumn has a friend we go to church with about five houses down that she likes to play with a lot. This day was very special because they got to have a tea party with a real tea set and cloth napkins! They were so funny how they knew they needed to talk different and act different during the tea party. There were a lot of pleases and thank yous. Very Sweet! Rachel we will miss you when you leave!

One Sad Cowboy

The only thing bad about blogging the past is you can't remember everything, I can't remember why Keston is soo sad. I just had to post this picture because he looks so adorable. Uncle Spencer and Aunt Jenny got Keston this cowboy outfit for him last year for Christmas and it has been used a lot. Maybe he is just tired from a long hard day on the open range!

For Pierce's first birthday I decided to start a tradition of baking the kids cakes for their birthdays. I have a friend who does it and how hard is it? Well let's just say we bought birthday cakes for Keston and Autumn after my attempt for Pierce. I am going to try again because I really like the thought of it. My mom used to always make me my favorite dessert for my birthday, Five Layer Dessert so I would like to carry on the tradition I just need some practice. I knew this when Autumn said "What is it?" We then decided it was some kind of bug. Anyways we had a great party for our little man and he ate his cake like a champ. This is the age that Kelton and I love the most they are so adorable. Pierce has a smile that just melts you and he is so sweet. It was also fun to see the older kids get so excited that he was one years old they thought it was such a big deal. This was a good family day!

BEHIND...What is New

Ok I do realize that I keep posting about things of the past but they were such cute pictures or great moments I just can't let them slide. I have been slacking in the blogging department lately so I am playing catch up so I can start blogging current Thomas Familt events.

Fun at the Fort Worth Zoo

Hurricane Harbor

Our first annual trip to Hurricane Harbor was soo much fun. We took our trip with family and had a blast! The kids had fun in the kids area and could have swam all day if we let them. We rented a cabana and it was perfect because it gave us shade, and a secure place for the babies to play. Next year I will remember to bring more sunscreen or I could just remember to put it on! We went with Kelton's family and we really hope we can keep it going through the years as the kids get older. We have taken several trips with them and it is always an adventure. I love traditions and I love sharing them with family. I know the kids will remember these days and reflect on them with smiles.

Our First Family Baseball Game!!

We were so lucky to have had such a wonderful summer. This is one of our dreams come true! Kelton and I have always talked about the day when we would load up the family and take them to a ball game. And we did! We went to the BEAUTIFUL Texas Rangers ballpark in Arlington and it was great. Now mind you between the hot weather and the hot weather and the hot weather we only lasted about an hour it was still fun. This ballpark is so amazing and I always feel like the movies when you walk through the tunnel out into the seats and you can see the field and the players. There is something magical about watching a baseball game live! I hope to keep this tradition stays with our family, we really had a fun time!